AS Title 45, Chapter 65: Handicrafts and Works of Art

Article 1. Handicrafts. Chapter 65. Handicrafts and Works of Art. Sec. 45.65.010. Identification seals and emblems. (a) An Alaska Native person who creates or crafts an original article of authentic Alaska Native art in the state may obtain an identification seal as specified in AS 45.65.030 (a) to identify the article. The identification seal may be affixed only to original articles of authentic Alaska Native art created or crafted in the state. (b) A person may use an emblem described under AS 45.65.030 (c) to identify an article that is made in the state. The emblem may not be used to identify an article made outside the state. Sec. 45.65.020. Administration of chapter. (a) The commissioner of commerce, community, and economic development is responsible for the administration of the provisions of AS 45.65.010 — 45.65.070 relating to the emblem that is authorized under AS 45.65.010 (b), including (1) the supervision of the use of the emblem; (2) subject to AS 45.65.030 (c), the design, issuance, and control of emblems; (3) the issuance of permits to agents to issue permits to use the emblems; and (4) the enforcement of AS 45.65.010 — 45.65.070 regarding the emblem authorized under AS 45.65.010 (b). (b) The Alaska State Council on the Arts ( AS 44.27.040 ) is responsible for the administration of the provisions of AS 45.65.010 — 45.65.070 relating to identification seals for authentic Alaska Native art, including (1) subject to AS 45.65.030 (a), the design, method of affixing, preparation, issuance, and control of identification seals; (2) the issuance of permits to use identification seals and the collection of the fees established under AS 45.65.040 (c); (3) the supervision of the use of identification seals; and (4) the enforcement of AS 45.65.010 — 45.65.070 regarding identification seals. Sec. 45.65.030. Design of identification seals and emblems. (a) The official symbol for the identification seal is the silver hand symbol. It must bear the words: “Authentic Alaska Native Art from Alaska” and include space for the artist's name and the place of origin of the article. (b) [Repealed, § 5 ch 104 SLA 1992.] (c) The official emblem for an article that is made in the state is a design approved by the commissioner under AS 45.65.020 (a)(2) that depicts a mother bear with a cub and states the words “Made in Alaska.” Sec. 45.65.040. Identification seal. (a) The identification seal may only be used after receiving a permit from the council. (b) [Repealed, § 14 ch 16 SLA 2008.] (c) The council shall establish forms and fees for the applications and permits to be used or issued under this section, the period for which the permits are valid, and the procedures for renewing the permits. (d) Before issuing a permit to a person under (a) of this section, the council shall determine that the person is eligible under AS 45.65.010 (a) to obtain the identification seal and that the article for which the person is applying for the permit is eligible under AS 45.65.010 (a) for the identification seal. (e) A person may report alleged violations of AS 45.65.010 — 45.65.070 regarding identification seals to the council. Sec. 45.65.045. Emblem and emblem agent permits. (a) The emblem authorized under AS 45.65.010 (b) may not be used without receiving a permit from the commissioner or from an agent who possesses a current permit under (b) of this section. (b) A resident of the state may apply to the commissioner for a permit to act as an agent to issue permits to use the emblem. An agent may report alleged violations of AS 45.65.010 — 45.65.070 regarding emblems to the commissioner. (c) The commissioner shall establish forms and fees for the applications and permits to be used or issued under this section, the period for which the permits are valid, and the procedures for renewing the permits. (d) Before issuing a permit for an article under this section, the commissioner or the agent shall determine that the article is eligible for the emblem. Sec. 45.65.050. Affixing seals to handicraft. [Repealed, § 11 ch 104 SLA 1992.] Sec. 45.65.055. Prohibited conduct. An individual may not (1) affix or attach the identification seal to an article that is not an original article of authentic Alaska Native art created or crafted in the state; (2) sell or offer for sale an article that has an identification seal affixed or attached but that is not an original article of authentic Alaska Native art created or crafted in the state; or (3) alter, change, or counterfeit an identification seal. Sec. 45.65.060. Penalties. (a) A person who knowingly violates AS 45.65.055 is guilty of a class B misdemeanor. In this subsection, “knowingly” has the meaning given in AS 11.81.900 . (b) [Repealed, § 14 ch 16 SLA 2008.] (c) A person who knowingly or wilfully alters, changes, or counterfeits an emblem is guilty of a class B misdemeanor. (d) A person who knowingly or wilfully sells or offers for sale an article that is not made in the state but that bears the emblem is guilty of a class B misdemeanor. (e) A person who knowingly or wilfully uses the emblem for an article that is not made in the state is guilty of a class B misdemeanor. (f) [Repealed, § 14 ch 16 SLA 2008.] (g) A person who has been issued a permit under AS 45.65.045 to issue permits to use the emblem, is guilty of a class B misdemeanor if the person knowingly or wilfully issues a permit for an article that is not made in the state. Sec. 45.65.070. Definitions. In AS 45.65.010 — 45.65.070, unless the context otherwise requires, (1) “Alaska Native person” means an individual who is a state resident and who is an enrolled member of an Alaska tribe; in this paragraph, “state resident” means an individual who is physically present in the state with the intent to remain indefinitely in the state under the requirements of AS 01.10.055 , or, if the individual is not physically present in the state, intends to return to the state and remain indefinitely in the state under the requirements of AS 01.10.055 ; (2) “Alaska tribe” means an organized group or community in Alaska that is an Indian tribe; in this paragraph, “Indian tribe” has the meaning given in 25 U.S.C. 450b(e) (Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act); (3) “authentic Alaska Native art” means a work of art that is created or crafted in the state by an Alaska Native person; (4) “commissioner” means the commissioner of commerce, community, and economic development; (5) “council” means the Alaska State Council on the Arts ( AS 44.27.040 ); (6) “emblem” means the emblem that is authorized under AS 45.65.010 (b); (7) “identification seal” means the seal authorized by AS 45.65.010 (a); (8) “original” means new, unique, not a reproduction, and created or crafted by one person without the use of mechanized duplication instruments, electronic duplication instruments, or other devices or systems for copying large numbers of articles, except that “original” includes etched prints, lithographic prints, serigraphic prints, and prints from photographs, if the prints are made by hand by the person who created or crafted the etched plate, etched drawing, etched design, lithographic plate, lithographic stone, silkscreen, or photograph from which the prints were made; (9) “work of art” means a creation or crafting of (A) a visual article, including a painting, a sculpture, a drawing, a mosaic, a photograph, an etching, a lithograph, and a serigraph; (B) calligraphy; (C) clay, textile, fiber, wood, metal, plastic, or glass, or a combination of these materials; (D) traditional Alaska Native materials, including ivory, bone, grass, baleen, animal skins, wood, or furs; or (E) a collage or combination of two or more of the categories identified in (A) — (D) of this paragraph. Secs. 45.65.080 — 45.65.150. [Renumbered as AS 44.33.501 — 44.33.512.] Article 2. Artists and Works of Art. Sec. 45.65.200. Artists and art dealer relationships. (a) When an artist delivers or causes to be delivered a work of art of the artist's own creation to an art dealer for the purpose of sale, or exhibition and sale, on a commission, fee, or other basis of compensation, the acceptance of the work of art by the art dealer is a consignment, and (1) the art dealer is, with respect to the work of art, the agent of the artist; (2) the work of art is trust property in the hands of the art dealer for the benefit of the artist; (3) proceeds from the sale of the work of art are trust funds in the hands of the art dealer for the benefit of the artist; (4) the art dealer shall return an unsold work of art on demand of the artist; (5) the art dealer is strictly liable for loss or damage to a work of art while the work of art is in the possession of the art dealer; the value of a lost or damaged work of art is the value established by written agreement between the artist and art dealer before the loss or damage of the work of art; if no written agreement establishing the value of the work of art exists, the value is the fair market value of the work of art less the art dealer's commission or fee; and (6) the dealer shall transmit the proceeds to the artist within 30 days of receipt by the dealer; if the sale is on installment, the money from each installment shall first be applied to pay any balance due the artist on the sale, unless the artist expressly agrees in writing that the proceeds on each installment are to be paid according to a percentage established by the consignment agreement. (b) A work of art initially received as a consignment remains trust property notwithstanding the subsequent purchase of the artwork by the art dealer directly or indirectly for the art dealer's own account until the consignment price due to the artist is paid in full. The trusteeship continues until the fiduciary obligation of the art dealer with respect to the transaction is discharged in full. Sec. 45.65.210. Waiver. (a) A provision of a contract or agreement whereby the artist waives a provision of AS 45.65.200 is void except as provided in this subsection. An artist may waive the provisions of AS 45.65.200 if the waiver is clear, conspicuous, and agreed to in writing by the artist. A waiver under this subsection is not valid with respect to the proceeds of a work of art initially received as a consignment but subsequently purchased by the art dealer directly or indirectly for the art dealer's own account. (b) A waiver under (a) of this section may not inure to the benefit of the art dealer's creditors in a manner that is inconsistent with the artist's rights under AS 45.65.200 . Sec. 45.65.250. Definitions. In AS 45.65.200 — 45.65.250, unless the context otherwise requires, (1) “art dealer” means a person engaged in the business of selling works of art, other than a person exclusively engaged in the business of selling goods at public auction; (2) “artist” means the creator of a work of art or, if deceased, the heirs or personal representatives of the creator; (3) “consignment” means that no title to or estate in the goods or right to possession superior to that of the consignor vests in the consignee, notwithstanding the consignee's power or authority to transfer and convey, to third person, all of the right, title, and interest of the consignor, in and to the goods; (4) “creditor” has the meaning given in AS 45.01.211 ; (5) “work of art” means an original or multiple original art work including: (A) visual art such as a painting, sculpture, drawing, mosaic, or photograph; (B) calligraphy; (C) graphic art such as an etching, lithograph, offset print, or silk screen; (D) craft work in clay, textile, fiber, wood, metal, plastic, or glass materials; (E) mixed media such as a collage or any combination of art media in this paragraph; (F) art employing traditional native materials such as ivory, bone, grass, baleen, animal skins, wood, and furs.